An
exercise sponsored by FEMA and the U.S. Department of Energy set to take place
on August 23 called EarthEX2017 will war game responses to catastrophes such as
mega earthquakes, cyber terrorism or high altitude electromagnetic pulse
attacks.

The
exercise will simulate a “subcontinent-scale, long duration power outage, with
cascading failures of all other infrastructures,” according to the official Earth Ex website.[http://www.planetready.com/earthex/]

“Black sky events” are defined as, “Catastrophic
occurrences caused by man or nature that bring society to its knees.”

Back in WWII…our military was still
advancing against the Axis powers.Today, we waste a lot of our resources on useless ‘police’ style
military actions around the world.Given today high unpredictability of international affairs concerning N
Korea, China and Russia and our own problems of keeping up militarily, I
thought I’d share this “prepper” manual with readers.

In 1944, the Allied troops were gaining ground on the
battlefields of WWII, but still faced opposition from the Axis powers. The
weaker that enemy targets could be made, the easier and faster the military’s
job would be in wresting Europe back from its occupying forces. The U.S.
government thus began a strategy to undermine Axis-aligned governments not only
from without, but also from within.

The Office of Strategic Services (O.S.S.), a precursor to the
modern C.I.A., created an initially classified booklet laying out the art
of “simple sabotage” — which, “more than malicious mischief . . . should always
consist of acts whose results will be detrimental to the materials and manpower
of the enemy.”

The Simple Sabotage Field Manual taught
O.S.S. agents not only how to recruit potential saboteurs from among those who
were antagonistic towards their occupiers and sympathetic to the Allied cause,
but listed specific tactics average citizens in various lines of work could
employ to destabilize their government and help hasten its demise. The booklet
was declassified by the director of the O.S.S., William J. Donovan, with the
aim of surreptitiously distributing its information by way of leaflets, radio
broadcasts, or the direct teaching of European citizens who U.S. agents had
ascertained could be trusted.

Though the suggestions presented in the Simple Sabotage Field Manual
were designed to soften the underbelly of the enemy by gumming up the works of
factories, offices, and infrastructure, what’s hilariously surprising is how
many of them, especially regarding white collar work, continue to be
inadvertently (we think?)
practiced today.

When you read tips to employees like “refer all matters to
committees, for ‘further study and consideration,'” and “Contrive as many interruptions
to your work as you can,” as well as instructions to managers to “Hold
conferences when there is more critical work to be done,” one realizes the ways
in which, in the present day, employees sabotage their companies, managers
sabotage their teams, and workers sabotage their own success — not for any
purposeful mission, but simply out of laziness, carelessness, and a lack of
motivation and morale.

Further, the general injunction to “Act stupid,” uncomfortably
invokes the fact that modern citizens may be sabotaging the strength of a
country they actually support.

The Simple
Sabotage Field Manual thus cannot only be used as a handbook on
guerrilla resistance, should you find yourself living under a tyrannical
occupying government, but also a guide on how to “reverse engineer” success in
peacetime pursuits — how to recognize and address would-be saboteurs in the
cubicle next door (or in the mirror).

Either way, it’s a fascinating read. Below we’ve re-published a
condensed version of the booklet, collecting the tips that are the most
interesting, and which still remain relevant today. (Numbering/formatting was
changed in places by the necessity of the condensing process.) The entire
booklet can be found here.

Fight the power, and don’t forget to leave home without a bag of
moths.

INTRODUCTION

a. The purpose of this paper is to characterize simple sabotage,
to outline its possible effects, and to present suggestions for inciting and
executing it.

b. Sabotage varies from highly technical coup de main acts that
require detailed planning and the use of specially trained operatives, to
innumerable simple acts which the ordinary individual citizen-saboteur can
perform. This paper is primarily concerned with the latter type. Simple
sabotage does not require specially prepared tools or equipment; it is executed
by an ordinary citizen who may or may not act individually and without the
necessity for active connection with an organized group; and it is carried out
in such a way as to involve a minimum danger of injury, detection, and
reprisal.

c. Where destruction is involved, the weapons of the
citizen-saboteur are salt, nails, candles, pebbles, thread, or any other
materials he might normally be expected to possess as a householder or as a
worker in his particular occupation. His arsenal is the kitchen shelf, the
trash pile, his own usual kit of tools and supplies. The targets of his
sabotage are usually objects to which he has normal and inconspicuous access in
everyday life.

d. A second type of simple sabotage requires no destructive
tools whatsoever and produces physical damage, if any, by highly indirect
means. It is based on universal opportunities to make faulty decisions, to
adopt a noncooperative attitude, and to induce others to follow suit. Making a
faulty decision may be simply a matter of placing tools in one spot instead of another.
A non-cooperative attitude may involve nothing more than creating an unpleasant
situation among one’s fellow workers, engaging in bickerings, or displaying
surliness and stupidity.

e. This type of activity, sometimes referred to as the “human
element,” is frequently responsible for accidents, delays, and general
obstruction even under normal conditions. The potential saboteur should
discover what types of faulty decisions and non-cooperation are normally found in this
kind of work and should then devise his sabotage so as to enlarge that “margin
for error.”

POSSIBLE EFFECTS

a. Acts of simple sabotage are occurring throughout Europe. An
effort should be made to add to their efficiency, lessen their detectability,
and increase their number. Acts of simple sabotage, multiplied by thousands of
citizen saboteurs, can be an effective weapon against the enemy. Slashing
tires, draining fuel tanks, starting fires, starting arguments, acting
stupidly, short-circuiting electric systems, abrading machine parts will waste
materials, manpower, and time. Occurring on a wide scale, simple sabotage will
be a constant and tangible drag on the war effort of the enemy.

b. Simple sabotage may also have secondary results of more or
less value. Widespread practice of simple sabotage will harass and demoralize
enemy administrators and police. Further, success may embolden the
citizen-saboteur eventually to find colleagues who can assist him in sabotage
of greater dimensions. Finally, the very practice of simple sabotage by natives
in enemy or occupied territory may make these individuals identify themselves
actively with the United Nations war effort, and encourage them to assist
openly in periods of Allied invasion and occupation.

ENCOURAGING DESTRUCTIVENESS

a. It should be pointed out to the saboteur where the
circumstances are suitable, that he is acting in self-defense against the
enemy, or retaliating against the enemy for other acts of destruction. A
reasonable amount of humor in the presentation of suggestions for simple
sabotage will relax tensions of fear.

b. The saboteur may have to reverse his thinking, and he should
be told this in so many words. Where he formerly thought of keeping his tools
sharp, he should now let them grow dull; surfaces that formerly were lubricated
now should be sanded; normally diligent, he should now be lazy and careless;
and so on. Once he is encouraged to think backwards about himself and the
objects of his everyday life, the saboteur will see many opportunities in his
immediate environment which cannot possibly be seen from a distance. A state of
mind should be encouraged that anything can be sabotaged.

SAFETY MEASURES

a. The amount of activity carried on by the saboteur will be
governed not only by the number of opportunities he sees, but also by the
amount of danger he feels. Bad news travels fast, and simple sabotage will be
discouraged if too many simple saboteurs are arrested.

b. It should not be difficult to prepare leaflets and other
media for the saboteur about the choice of weapons, time, and targets which
will insure the saboteur against detection and retaliation. Among such
suggestions might be the following:

(1) Use materials which appear to be innocent. A knife or a nail
file can be carried normally on your person; either is a multi-purpose
instrument for creating damage. Matches, pebbles, hair, salt, nails, and dozens
of other destructive agents can be carried or kept in your living quarters
without exciting any suspicion whatever. If you are a worker in a particular
trade or industry you can easily carry and keep such things as wrenches,
hammers, emery paper, and the like.

(2) Try to commit acts for which large numbers of people could
be responsible. For instance, if you blow out the wiring in a factory at a
central fire box, almost anyone could have done it. On-the-street sabotage
after dark, such as you might be able to carry out against a military car or
truck, is another example of an act for which it would be impossible to blame
you.

(3) Do not be afraid to commit acts for which you might be
blamed directly, so long as you do so rarely, and as long as you have a
plausible excuse: you dropped your wrench across an electric circuit because an
air raid had kept you up the night before and you were half-dozing at work.
Always be profuse in your apologies. Frequently you can “get away” with such
acts under the cover of pretending stupidity, ignorance, over-caution, fear of
being suspected of sabotage, or weakness and dullness due to undernourishment.

(4) After you have committed an act of easy sabotage, resist any
temptation to wait around and see what happens. Loiterers arouse suspicion. Of
course, there are circumstances when it would be suspicious for you to leave.
If you commit sabotage on your job, you should naturally stay at your work.

SPECIFIC SUGGESTIONS FOR SIMPLE SABOTAGE

a. It will not be possible to evaluate the desirability of
simple sabotage in an area without having in mind rather specifically what
individual acts and results are embraced by the definition of simple sabotage.

b. A listing of specific acts follows, classified according to
types of target. This list is presented as a growing rather than a complete
outline of the methods of simple sabotage. As new techniques are developed, or
new fields explored, it will be elaborated and expanded.

(1) Buildings

Warehouses, barracks, offices, hotels, and factory buildings are
outstanding targets for simple sabotage. They are extremely susceptible to
damage, especially by fire; they offer opportunities to such untrained people
as janitors, charwomen [office/house cleaner], and casual visitors; and, when
damaged, they present a relatively large handicap to the enemy.

(a) Fires can be started wherever there is an accumulation of
inflammable material. Warehouses are obviously the most promising targets but
incendiary sabotage need not be confined to them alone.

(1) Whenever possible, arrange to have the fire start
after you have gone away. Use a candle and paper combination, setting it as
close as possible to the inflammable material you want to burn: From a sheet of
paper, tear a strip three or four centimeters wide and wrap it around the base
of the candle two or three times. Twist more sheets of paper into loose ropes
and place them around the base of the candle. When the candle flame reaches the
encircling strip, it will be ignited and in turn will ignite the surrounding
paper. The size, heat, and duration of the resulting flame will depend on how
much paper you use and how much of it you can cramp in a small space.

(2) With a flame of this kind, do not attempt to ignite
any but rather inflammable materials, such as cotton sacking. To light more
resistant materials, use a candle plus tightly rolled or twisted paper which
has been soaked in gasoline. To create a briefer but even hotter flame, put
celluloid such as you might find in an old comb, into a nest of plain or
saturated paper which is to be fired by a candle.

(3) To make another type of simple fuse, soak one end of
a piece of string in grease. Rub a generous pinch of gunpowder over the inch of
string where greasy string meets clean string. Then ignite the clean end of the
string. It will burn slowly without a flame (in much the same way that a
cigarette burns) until it reaches the grease and gunpowder; it will then flare up
suddenly. The grease-treated string will then burn with a flame. The same
effect may be achieved by using matches instead of the grease and gunpowder.
Run the string over the match heads, taking care that the string is not pressed
or knotted. They too will produce a sudden flame. The advantage of this type of
fuse is that string burns at a set speed. You can time your fire by the length
and thickness of the string you chose.

(4) Use a fuse such as the ones suggested above to start
a fire in an office after hours. The destruction of records and other types of
documents would be a serious handicap to the enemy.

(5) In basements where waste is kept, janitors should
accumulate oily and greasy waste. Such waste sometimes ignites spontaneously,
but it can easily be lit with a cigarette or match. If you are a janitor on
night duty, you can be the first to report the fire, but don’t report it too
soon.

(6) A clean factory is not susceptible to fire, but a
dirty one is. Workers should be careless with refuse and janitors should be
inefficient in cleaning. If enough dirt and trash can be accumulated an
otherwise fireproof building will become inflammable.

(b) Water and miscellaneous

(1) Ruin warehouse stock by setting the automatic
sprinkler system to work. You can do this by tapping the sprinkler heads
sharply with a hammer or by holding a match under them.

(2) Forget to provide paper in toilets; put tightly
rolled paper, hair, and other obstructions in the W. C. [Water Closet] Saturate
a sponge with a thick starch or sugar solution. Squeeze it tightly into a ball,
wrap it with string, and dry. Remove the string when fully dried. The sponge
will be in the form of a tight hard ball. Flush down a W. C. or otherwise
introduce into a sewer line. The sponge will gradually expand to its normal
size and plug the sewage system.

(3) Jam paper, bits of wood, hairpins, and anything else
that will fit, into the locks of all unguarded entrances to public buildings.

(2) Industrial Production: Manufacturing

(a) Tools

(1) Let cutting tools grow dull. They will be
inefficient, will slow down production, and may damage the materials and parts
you use them on.

(2) Leave saws slightly twisted when you are not using
them. After a while, they will break when used.

(3) Using a very rapid stroke will wear out a file before
its time. So will dragging a file in slow strokes under heavy pressure. Exert
pressure on the backward stroke as well as the forward stroke.

(4) Clean files by knocking them against the vise or the
workpiece; they are easily broken this way.

(5) Bits and drills will snap under heavy pressure.

(6) You can put a press punch out of order by putting in
it more material than it is adjusted for — two blanks instead of one, for
example.

(7) Power-driven tools like pneumatic drills, riveters,
and so on, are never efficient when dirty. Lubrication points and electric
contacts can easily be fouled by normal accumulations of dirt or the insertion
of foreign matter.

(b) Oil and lubrication systems are not only vulnerable to easy
sabotage, but are critical in every machine with moving parts. Sabotage of oil
and lubrication will slow production or stop work entirely at strategic points
in industrial processes.

(1) Put metal dust or filings, fine sand, ground glass,
emery dust (get it by pounding up an emery knife sharpener) and similar hard,
gritty substances directly into lubrication systems. They will scour smooth
surfaces, ruining pistons, cylinder walls, shafts, and bearings. They will
overheat and stop motors which will need overhauling, new parts, and extensive
repairs. Such materials, if they are used, should be introduced into
lubrication systems past any filters which otherwise would strain them out.

(2) You can cause wear on any machine by uncovering a
filter system, poking a pencil or any other sharp object through the filter
mesh, then covering it up again. Or, if you can dispose of it quickly, simply
remove the filter.

(3) If you cannot get at the lubrication system or filter
directly, you may be able to lessen the effectiveness of oil by diluting it in
storage. In this case, almost any liquid will do which will thin the oil. A
small amount of sulphuric acid, varnish, water-glass, or linseed oil will be
especially effective.

(4) Using a thin oil where a heavy oil is prescribed will
break down a machine or heat up a moving shaft so that it will “freeze” and
stop.

(5) Put any clogging substance into lubrication systems
or, if it will float, into stored oil. Twisted combings of human hair, pieces
of string, dead insects, and many other common objects will be effective in
stopping or hindering the flow of oil through feed lines and filters.

(c) Gasoline and oil fuel. Tanks and fueling engines usually are
accessible and easy to open. They afford a very vulnerable target for simple
sabotage activities.

(1) Put several pinches of sawdust or hard grain, such as
rice or wheat, into the fuel tank of a gasoline engine. The particles will
choke a feed line so that the engine will stop. Some time will be required to
discover the source of the trouble. Although they will be hard to get, crumbs
of natural rubber, such as you might find in old rubber bands and pencil
erasers, are also effective.

(2) If you can accumulate sugar, put it in the fuel tank
of a gasoline engine. As it burns together with the gasoline, it will turn into
a sticky mess which will completely mire the engine and necessitate extensive
cleaning and repair. Honey and molasses are as good as sugar. Try to use about
75-100 grams for each 10 gallons of gasoline.

(3) Other impurities which you can introduce into
gasoline will cause rapid engine wear and eventual breakdown. Fine particles of
pumice, sand, ground glass, and metal dust can easily be introduced into a
gasoline tank. Be sure that the particles are very fine, so that they will be
able to pass through the carburetor jet.

(4) Water, urine, wine, or any other simple liquid you
can get in reasonably large quantities Will dilute gasoline fuel to a point
where no combustion will occur in the cylinder and the engine will not move.
One pint to 20 gallons of gasoline is sufficient. If salt water is used, it
will cause corrosion and permanent motor damage.

(5) In the case of diesel engines, put low flashpoint oil
into the fuel tank; the engine will not move. If there already is proper oil in
the tank when the wrong kind is added, the engine will only limp and sputter
along.

(6) Fuel lines to gasoline and oil engines frequently
pass over the exhaust pipe. When the machine is at rest, you can stab a small
hole in the fuel line and plug the hole with wax. As the engine runs and the
exhaust tube becomes hot, the wax will be melted; fuel will drip onto the
exhaust and a blaze will start.

(3) Transportation: Railways

(a) Passengers

(1) Make train travel as inconvenient as possible for
enemy personnel. Make mistakes in issuing train tickets, leaving portions of
the journey uncovered by the ticket book; issue two tickets for the same seat
in the train, so that an interesting argument will result. On station bulletin
boards announcing train arrivals and departures, see that false and misleading
information is given about trains bound for enemy destinations.

(2) In trains bound for enemy destinations, attendants
should make life as uncomfortable as possible for passengers. See that the food
is especially bad, take up tickets after midnight, call all station stops very
loudly during the night, handle baggage as noisily as possible during the
night, and so on.

(3) See that the luggage of enemy personnel is mislaid or
unloaded at the wrong stations. Switch address labels on enemy baggage.

(4) Engineers should see that trains run slow or make
unscheduled stops for plausible reasons.

(4) Transportation: Automotive

(a) Roads

(1) Change sign posts at intersections and forks; the
enemy will go the wrong way and it may be miles before he discovers his
mistakes. In areas where traffic is composed primarily of enemy autos, trucks,
and motor convoys of various kinds, remove danger signals from curves and
intersections.

(2) When the enemy asks for directions, give him wrong
information. Especially when enemy convoys are in the neighborhood, truck
drivers can spread rumors and give false information about bridges being out,
ferries closed, and detours lying ahead.

(3) If you can start damage to a heavily traveled road,
passing traffic and the elements will do the rest. Construction gangs can see
that too much sand or water is put in concrete or that the road foundation has
soft spots. Anyone can scoop ruts in asphalt and macadam roads which turn soft
in hot weather; passing trucks will accentuate the ruts to a point where
substantial repair will be needed. Dirt roads also can be scooped out. If you
are a road laborer, it will be only a few minutes work to divert a small stream
from a sluice so that it runs over and eats away the road.

(1) Bus-driver can go past the stop where the enemy wants
to get off. Taxi drivers can waste the enemy’s time and make extra money by
driving the longest possible route to his destination.

(c) Battery

(1) Turn on the lights in parked cars so that the battery
will run down.

(d) Tires

(1) Slash or puncture tires of unguarded vehicles. Put a
nail inside a match box or other small box, and set it vertically in front of
the back tire of a stationary car; when the car starts off, the nail will go
neatly through the tire.

(2) In putting air into tires, see that they are kept
below normal pressure, so that more than an ordinary amount of wear will
result. In filling tires on double wheels, inflate the inner tire to a much
higher pressure than the outer one; both will wear out more quickly this way.

(5) Communications

(a) Telephone

(1) At office, hotel and exchange switchboards delay
putting enemy calls through, give them wrong numbers, cut them off
“accidentally,” or forget to disconnect them so that the line cannot be used
again.

(2) Hamper official and especially military business by
making at least one telephone call a day to an enemy headquarters; when you get
them, tell them you have the wrong number. Call military or police offices and
make anonymous false reports of fires, air raids, bombs.

(b) Mail

(1) Post office employees can see to it that enemy mail
is always delayed by one day or more, that it is put in wrong sacks, and so on.

(c) Motion Pictures

(1) Projector operators can ruin newsreels and other
enemy propaganda films by bad focusing, speeding up or slowing down the film
and by causing frequent breakage in the film.

(2) Audiences can ruin enemy propaganda films by
applauding to drown the words of the speaker, by coughing loudly, and by
talking.

(3) Anyone can break up a showing of an enemy propaganda
film by putting two or three dozen large moths in a paper bag. Take the bag to
the movies with you, put it on the floor in an empty section of the theater as
you go in and leave it open. The moths will fly out and climb into the
projector beam, so that the film will be obscured by fluttering shadows.

(6) General Interference with Organizations and Production

(a) Organizations and Conferences

(1) Insist on doing everything through “channels.” Never
permit short-cuts to be taken in order to expedite decisions.

(2) Make “speeches.” Talk as frequently as possible and
at great length. Illustrate your “points” by long anecdotes and accounts of
personal experiences. Never hesitate to make a few appropriate “patriotic”
comments.

(3) When possible, refer all matters to committees, for
“further study and consideration.” Attempt to make the committees as large as possible
— never less than five.

(6) Refer back to matters decided upon at the last
meeting and attempt to re-open the question of the advisability of that
decision.

(7) Advocate “caution.” Be “reasonable” and urge your
fellow-conferees to be “reasonable” and avoid haste which might result in
embarrassments or difficulties later on.

(8) Be worried about the propriety of any decision —
raise the question of whether such action as is contemplated lies within the
jurisdiction of the group or whether it might conflict with the policy of some
higher echelon.

(b) Managers and Supervisors

(1) Demand written orders.

(2) “Misunderstand” orders. Ask endless questions or
engage in long correspondence about such orders. Quibble over them when you
can.

(3) Do everything possible to delay the delivery of
orders. Even though parts of an order may be ready beforehand, don’t deliver it
until it is completely ready.

(4) Don’t order new working materials until your current
stocks have been virtually exhausted, so that the slightest delay in filling
your order will mean a shutdown.

(5) Order high-quality materials which are hard to get.
If you don’t get them argue about it. Warn that inferior materials will mean
inferior work.

(6) In making work assignments, always sign out the
unimportant jobs first. See that the important jobs are assigned to inefficient
workers of poor machines.

(7) Insist on perfect work in relatively unimportant
products; send back for refinishing those which have the least flaw. Approve
other defective parts whose flaws are not visible to the naked eye.

(8) Make mistakes in routing so that parts and materials
will be sent to the wrong place in the plant.

(9) When training new workers, give incomplete or
misleading instructions.

(10) To lower morale and with it, production, be pleasant
to inefficient workers; give them undeserved promotions. Discriminate against
efficient workers; complain unjustly about their work.

(11) Hold conferences when there is more critical work to
be done.

(12) Multiply paper work in plausible ways. Start
duplicate files.

(13) Multiply the procedures and clearances involved in
issuing instructions, pay checks, and so on. See that three people have to
approve everything where one would do.

(14) Apply all regulations to the last letter.

(c) Office Workers

(1) Make mistakes in quantities of material when you are
copying orders. Confuse similar names. Use wrong addresses.

(2) Prolong correspondence with government bureaus.

(3) Misfile essential documents.

(4) Tell important callers the boss is busy or talking on
another telephone.

(5) Hold up mail until the next collection.

(6) Spread disturbing rumors that sound like inside dope.

(d) Employees

(1) Work slowly. Think out ways to increase the number of
movements necessary on your job: use a light hammer instead of a heavy one, try
to make a small wrench do when a big one is necessary, use little force where considerable
force is needed, and so on.

(2) Contrive as many interruptions to your work as you
can: when changing the material on which you are working, as you would on a
lathe or punch, take needless time to do it. If you are cutting, shaping or
doing other measured work, measure dimensions twice as often as you need to.
When you go to the lavatory, spend a longer time there than is necessary.
Forget tools so that you will have to go back after them.

(3) Even if you understand the language, pretend not to
understand instructions in a foreign tongue.

(4) Pretend that instructions are hard to understand, and
ask to have them repeated more than once. Or pretend that you are particularly
anxious to do your work, and pester the foreman with unnecessary questions.

(5) Do your work poorly and blame it on bad tools,
machinery, or equipment. Complain that these things are preventing you from
doing your job right.

(6) Never pass on your skill and experience to a new or
less skillful worker.

(7) Snarl up administration in every possible way. Fill
out forms illegibly so that they will have to be done over; make mistakes or
omit requested information in forms.

(8) If possible, join or help organize a group for
presenting employee problems to the management. See that the procedures adopted
are as inconvenient as possible for the management, involving the presence of a
large number of employees at each presentation, entailing more than one meeting
for each grievance, bringing up problems which are largely imaginary, and so on.

(7) General Devices for Lowering Morale and Creating Confusion

(a) Give lengthy and incomprehensible explanations when
questioned.

(b) Report imaginary spies or danger to the Gestapo or police.

(c) Act stupid.

(d) Be as irritable and quarrelsome as possible without getting
yourself into trouble.

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